Freedom from Karma
According to the Buddhist doctrine of Karma we are like puppets, being constantly pulled here and there. Let the strings pull us or fighting them- either way we are bound. what is the true relationship between us and our karma?
Fate, according to eastern philosophy, is not that which is inevitable or must eventually happen. Fate is the accumulation of many sub-conscious imprints on our minds, the outcome of our general tribal heritage, and of the significant incidents in our personal pasts. Fate is everything that we are, as manifested at this present time. It is our burden, our "karma", our binding iron chain. Only if we drop it, can we truly set ourselves free.
The Buddhist doctrine of karma says that we are like puppets, being constantly pulled by many strings. However, unlike a real puppet, we think that we are responsible for the movements, and we assume that it is our dance that we dance. Some of us choose to rebel against one of the strings, like a puppet that has decided there is a certain string it will not put up with anymore. Such "wars" are usually waged against religion, education, work, marriage, or anything else that we are bound to. In most cases, we tie ourselves to other strings that pull us toward the opposite extreme.
Whether we accept our strings or resist them with other strings – either way we are still bound. The Buddha did not speak about accepting our karma or about fighting it. The Buddha spoke about freedom from karma.
But this freedom is not so easily attained. You can renounce everything and travel to the farthest corners of the globe, yet still carry within you the bondage of your strings. To be free from your karma, first you must be aware of it. Luckily, karma is not a theoretical thing at all, we can actually see it with our own eyes. Take a close look at your parents and the family you came from - they are your karma.
Being aware of this karma will help us start distinguishing some of the strings that bind us. However, there are so many of them that it would be a never ending task trying to untie them one by one. Some of them are so delicate and hidden, that it is impossible to know if we are aware of them or not. If we wish to remove them one by one, it would be extremely difficult to know where to begin. The Zen approach to this tangle of strings is a wholesale one, not retail. A Zen teacher will help you go deeper, to the very root of this multitude of strings.
A man once asked the monk Seng-Chan:
"Please show me the way to inner freedom."
The master replied:
"Who is tying you up?"
That which binds us to our karma is not its grip on us, but our grip on it. It is our unconscious insistence on holding on to the strings that bind us. The way to freedom is simply to release this grip, and thus let them all go at once. To be more precise, we are not holding all our karmic strings. We are in fact holding only one – we follow our Minds. We believe them, obey them, and moreover, identify ourselves with them.
To let go of this grip, we need to accumulate moments in which we are free from thinking about ourselves, free from our memories, free from our personalities. Moments in which past and future are at total rest, and only pure presence remains. This is where meditation aims. When a critical amount of such moments is accumulated, we can suddenly realize that we are much more than our minds, and will eventually be able to master them.
If only we could release the grip on our Crow
And encourage it to fly away,
Not only would we have peace of mind,
But all the karma of our Crow
Would fly away with it.
The Buddhist doctrine of karma says that we are like puppets, being constantly pulled by many strings. However, unlike a real puppet, we think that we are responsible for the movements, and we assume that it is our dance that we dance. Some of us choose to rebel against one of the strings, like a puppet that has decided there is a certain string it will not put up with anymore. Such "wars" are usually waged against religion, education, work, marriage, or anything else that we are bound to. In most cases, we tie ourselves to other strings that pull us toward the opposite extreme.
Whether we accept our strings or resist them with other strings – either way we are still bound. The Buddha did not speak about accepting our karma or about fighting it. The Buddha spoke about freedom from karma.
But this freedom is not so easily attained. You can renounce everything and travel to the farthest corners of the globe, yet still carry within you the bondage of your strings. To be free from your karma, first you must be aware of it. Luckily, karma is not a theoretical thing at all, we can actually see it with our own eyes. Take a close look at your parents and the family you came from - they are your karma.
Being aware of this karma will help us start distinguishing some of the strings that bind us. However, there are so many of them that it would be a never ending task trying to untie them one by one. Some of them are so delicate and hidden, that it is impossible to know if we are aware of them or not. If we wish to remove them one by one, it would be extremely difficult to know where to begin. The Zen approach to this tangle of strings is a wholesale one, not retail. A Zen teacher will help you go deeper, to the very root of this multitude of strings.
A man once asked the monk Seng-Chan:
"Please show me the way to inner freedom."
The master replied:
"Who is tying you up?"
That which binds us to our karma is not its grip on us, but our grip on it. It is our unconscious insistence on holding on to the strings that bind us. The way to freedom is simply to release this grip, and thus let them all go at once. To be more precise, we are not holding all our karmic strings. We are in fact holding only one – we follow our Minds. We believe them, obey them, and moreover, identify ourselves with them.
To let go of this grip, we need to accumulate moments in which we are free from thinking about ourselves, free from our memories, free from our personalities. Moments in which past and future are at total rest, and only pure presence remains. This is where meditation aims. When a critical amount of such moments is accumulated, we can suddenly realize that we are much more than our minds, and will eventually be able to master them.
If only we could release the grip on our Crow
And encourage it to fly away,
Not only would we have peace of mind,
But all the karma of our Crow
Would fly away with it.
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